CAN I TAKE SAND OR GRAVEL OUT OF A STREAM OR DO I NEED A PERMIT FROM ANYONE?

The streams and rivers of America cross many property lines. Many people rely on our streams, rivers, and lakes for drinking water. Streams and rivers are also home to countless plants and animals. By law, the Department of Environment and Conservation is required to protect this critical resource. To do so, a permit program that provides landowners with guidelines for stabilizing streambanks and removing logs and other woody debris from the stream channel. By maintaining streams and solving small problems before they worsen, landowners protect their land from more serious damage in the future.

Removal of sand or gravel can usually be authorized when state guidelines are followed. Gravel can be removed for personal use from gravel bars that do not support well-established trees and vegetation. This work must be done in the dry, with a berm separating the work area from the flowing water. No approval is required to remove small amounts of gravel with hand tools.

The obvious damage to streams occur when a stream owner attempts channelization. Channelization and alterations typically straighten, deepen and can widen a stream. Water flows much faster through the altered channel, resulting in increased erosion and flooding downstream. The straightened channel also moves more gravel and sediment downstream. In addition, channelizing can strip streambanks of vegetation, making them more prone to erosion.

Although channelization may appear to solve a problem in the short term, the stream will constantly work to return to its natural shape. This short-term solution can result in long-term problems and high, recurring costs. Permits are not needed to pull downed trees out of streams or to remove live trees and brush. However, you may need a permit if you want to dig out stumps and roots. Please keep in mind that unless trees are leaning and about to fall into the creek, they should be left alone. Streamside trees hold the streambank in place, provide valuable habitat for fish and other species, and keep the stream cool.

When it rains, streams often flood. This often causes many a stream owner to attempt to alter or help this process from being less damaging. This natural process can be managed, but not prevented. Even expensive, tax-funded projects usually do not eliminate flooding. The best way to manage flooding is to keep your stream channel free of downed trees and other woody debris and to keep culverts open. Also, avoid placing buildings next to streams, as they could be damaged by flooding.

In the end it is usually safe to make simple or generally small alterations to your stream. But large attempts may do more damage not only to the one stream owner, but to many others downstream. Also, non-permitted attempts may do more long-term damage than short-term benefits. A simple procedure such as gravel removal normally does not involve a permit.